Friday, July 29, 2016

Tests on diesel cars reveal “many excesses” of pollution threshold – The World

after ten months of work and hearings eleven automakers this commission (which brought together representatives of governments, associations, parliamentarians and scientists) indicates that “does not indicate the use of illegal defeat devices”. But it also specifies that it can not, either, “to rule out” . Clearly “cheating” could take place

This work was ordered after the Volkswagen case, in autumn 2015. – The German mark had installed software to cheat on of certification tests by the temporary reduction of emissions. They had to allow one hand to control the emissions of a hundred vehicles – the final report covers eighty-six models – and secondly to determine whether the marks were using cheats software.

This report may not allow “make transparent practices in the automotive industry and restore consumer confidence” , as Ségolène Royal. The Minister, following the suggestion of the commission, also requests that the “continuous work” and that new proposals be made.

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emissions of CO 2 20% above 50%

the committee confirmed there are many significant differences between the actual values ​​recorded during track tests by UTAC-Ceram certification body and those declared by manufacturers. Regarding carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), they would be 20% to 50% higher.

NO emission materials x , nitrogen oxides, the results are different depending on the technology used by manufacturers. But some vehicles (Euro 6) exceeded ten times the norm. “The approved vehicles emit one to twenty times the maximum allowed for NO x when they are on the road,” write the rapporteurs.

their final observation confirms that the commission had already mentioned in presenting the results of fifty-two vehicles on tests, April 7: “the approval procedure is now based mainly on testing before marketing vehicle in the laboratory following a protocol unrepresentative of reality and vehicles specially configured for this purpose. “

” Few Returns constructors’

But the most worrying, perhaps, in this report, lies in the ubiquitous finding of a difficulty or even impossibility for the Commission to have access to all information: “a large majority of manufacturers were not in possession of all the information required by the Commission of inquiry at their hearing. They are therefore committed to provide this missing information. Unfortunately, in reality there was little feedback from manufacturers. “

According to experts of the Commission, ” it was not possible to have access to all the embedded software, and therefore no software analysis n ‘ was made “. “The commission therefore can not rule definitively on the presence or absence of software ” cheats “ in the tested vehicles. “

The members of this committee, if exempt certain brands of any ill will – ” eg French manufacturers “- that would stigmatize them precisely Volkswagen sent a “prior reminder letter of law” .

Asked by Le Monde , Senator (LR) of the Alpes-Maritimes, Louis Negro, member of the independent commission denounces “a serious crisis of confidence” . “This information, such as software source code that fall under business confidentiality should be made available to bodies authorized to judge confidentially so as to reassure citizens and to enable manufacturers to meet credibility “, he believes

Read. Diesel: no manufacturer can meet the standards

NGOs, as represented in the commission by France Nature environment (FNE) and the climate Action Network (RAC), which denounced even Friday morning, the delay in the publication of the report, stressed the need for transparency on the part of manufacturers and the need to implement as soon as possible the recommendations in the report.

“the results are catastrophic and require a strong reaction from manufacturers to implement improvement measures to reduce the level of pollution their vehicles outstanding under real driving conditions “, says Lorelei Limousin RAC. It is also necessary, she says, “continue technological investigations with independent experts constructors’ and ” The commission recommendations are acted upon, whether brought in policy at European level ‘.

Anticipate regulatory changes

in fact, the commission, which did not spare the builders, some advocates strong measures. Beyond further investigations, confirmed on Friday by Ségolène Royal, “The French authorities must anticipate regulatory changes,” say the authors of the report.

Without waiting implementation of the future European regulation “Real Driving emission” (RDE), which will require manufacturers to meet the standard in actual use conditions, France should, says the committee, “set a maximum value for emissions nO x , measured during the monitoring provided by RDE beyond which approval will not be issued “. The same approach could be applied to the particulate emissions.

The commission also claims “more transparency” from the manufacturers, particularly as regards activation terms “defeat devices” found on vehicles, those used to disable the functioning of the emission control system according to certain parameters, speed, engine speed, temperature …

Ultimately, say the members of the commission, the follow-up to this report is primarily political: “the absence or lack of surveillance testing transparency and control on the part of public authorities on vehicle emissions mass produced and put on sale in the European Union constitutes incitement to fraud and must absolutely be corrected, “ they write.